"Yes. Extracted by force. Not destroyed. Not scattered. Taken."
The humming deepened.
"That's impossible. No one should be able to pierce our Soul Locks."
"Unless," said a fifth voice, barely more than a whisper, "they used forbidden methods. Something aligned with the Killing Path."
That silenced the chamber.
Even the crystals in the walls seemed to dim, as if listening more carefully now.
"Are you saying a Devilish technique was used?" someone asked.
"There are signs," the first speaker said carefully. "What little our anchors could relay before going dark… suggested a technique similar to the Soul Slaughter Art."
A sharp breath escaped one of the cultists. Another trembled faintly.
"That technique was sealed. Buried beneath layers of curse arrays and forgotten in the ash of the Last Cycle."
"Then someone unearthed it."
"Or it found someone," the elder voice intoned.
The suggestion sent a ripple through the group.
